Kathy Deck, director of the Center for Business and Economic Research at the University of Arkansas. (Beth Hall)

Arkansas' job growth prospects don't look particularly rosy in the immediate future, and a shrinking labor force isn't helping the state return to pre-recession levels, according to economists at the Quarterly Business Analysis luncheon Thursday in Rogers. "The whole story is about the labor force," Kathy Deck says. "It tells a dreadful story."